In Bearing.—Having given the reader an idea of the probable cost of bringing an orchard to bearing age, it may be well also to give the cost of producing apples in a mature apple orchard. Our bearing apple orchard consists of 6.1 acres containing 234 trees. About one-half of the trees, or 110, are 36 years old. The remainder are nearly 50 years of age. As they are all in one block and handled together, the charges cannot well be separated. One hundred and thirty-four of the trees are Baldwins, 44 Twenty Ounce, 40 Tompkins County Kings, and the remainder odd varieties. For the whole period of ten years the orchard has had very good care and attention.
A cover crop was not sown every year, but when it was used the charge was made against the orchard. The manure charge, omitted because of uncertainty as to the exact amount applied and as to its real value, is the only thing lacking in this table.
Two or three sprayings have been made every year. Until 1909, Bordeaux mixture and Paris green were used, but since then the commercial brands of lime sulphur and arsenate of lead have taken their place, nearly doubling the cost of the spray material. The average cost of the material for spraying has been $2.50 per acre, or nearly three and one-half cents per barrel of apples harvested. In 1910 this cost was $3.92 per acre and seven cents a barrel.
TABLE SHOWING THE ITEMS OF EXPENSE IN PRODUCING APPLES IN A SIX ACRE ORCHARD
| Year | Cover crop | Spraying mat. | Bar. | 5% int. on inv. | Equip. charge | O'vh'd charge | Labor cost | Total cost |
| 1902 | 6.64 | $117.88 | $27.45 | $25.00 | $2.97 | $339.45 | $519.39 | |
| 1903 | 11.22 | 164.92 | 28.88 | 25.00 | 2.88 | 249.55 | 482.56 | |
| 1904 | 10.50 | 109.90 | 30.50 | 25.00 | 3.93 | 180.55 | 360.38 | |
| 1905 | $6.10 | 12.45 | 88.80 | 30.50 | 25.00 | 3.40 | 158.06 | 324.31 |
| 1906 | 14.85 | 112.35 | 33.06 | 25.00 | 4.78 | 211.76 | 401.80 | |
| 1907 | 10.00 | 16.85 | 79.80 | 35.56 | 25.00 | 4.89 | 192.30 | 364.40 |
| 1908 | 9.75 | 205.45 | 37.76 | 30.09 | 5.09 | 293.50 | 583.55 | |
| 1909 | 8.68 | 19.26 | 196.35 | 41.97 | 38.98 | 5.91 | 280.78 | 591.93 |
| 1910 | 23.89 | 116.90 | 45.75 | 32.39 | 5.58 | 175.26 | 399.77 | |
| 1911 | 10.50 | 27.08 | 206.38 | 45.75 | 32.39* | 5.53* | 275.00* | 602.63 |
| 10 yr. av. | $15.25 | $139.87 | $35.73 | $28.37 | $4.78 | $235.62 | $463.07 | |
| Av. per acre | 2.50 | 22.93 | 5.86 | 4.65 | .78 | 38.63 | 75.92 | |
| Av. per bbl | .036 | .327 | .084 | .066 | .011 | .552 | -1.08 | |
| * Partly estimated, records not yet complete. | ||||||||
The cost of the package has varied from 28 to 38 cents and has averaged about 32½ cents, or $22.93 per acre. Of course the latter amount varies greatly with the crop.
Interest has in all cases been figured at five per cent., but as the price of the land has varied from $90 an acre at the beginning of the period to its present valuation of $160,00 an acre, due both to its improvement and to a general increase in the price of land, the amount of interest has also varied. The same is true of the equipment charge which has steadily increased each year. The average valuation of the land for the ten-year period was $117.15 an acre. This means an annual interest charge of $5.86 per acre, or 8½ cents a barrel. The equipment charge, which is interest, repairs, and depreciation on the machinery used in the orchard, amounts to more than 6½ cents a barrel, or $4.65 per acre. Taxes and insurance on the buildings distributed per acre for the farm average $.78 per acre, or a trifle over one cent per barrel. These costs have also increased in the last few years.
Labor is the largest single item. For the first four years this was estimated on the basis of the cost for the last six years, for which more careful records were kept. It is computed at its actual cost to us on the farm, which was 15½ cents an hour for men and 13½ cents an hour for horses. This amounts to $4.25 per day for man and team. The cost of the labor to grow, pick, pack, and market a barrel of apples was 55 cents, or $38.63 per acre with an average yield of 70 barrels per acre.
To sum up these items of cost we find that taking the average of ten years with an annual crop of 427 barrels, or 70 per acre, on 6.1 acres of old apple orchard that the costs per barrel have been as follows: spray material, $.036; packages, $.327; interest on the land, $.084; use of equipment, $.066; taxes, $.011; labor, $.552; and a total of $1.08 per barrel. If the estimated cost of manure, six cents a barrel be added, the total will be $1.14. As we have said, these costs per barrel vary with the crop. When our yield was 100 barrels per acre the cost per barrel was only $.99, but when it was 34 barrels per acre this cost rose to $1.73 per barrel. In 1910 we grew a crop of 55 barrels per acre for $1.20 per barrel.
It may be of interest to some to know what the income and profit were on this orchard. For this purpose we give the following table showing the yield, income, cost, and net profit for each of the ten years, and the average: